The governing body for Nigeria's third-tier league, Nationwide League One (NLO), has confirmed that the Disciplinary Sanctions imposed on teams during the 2025 NLO Division One season were consistent with the Articles outlined in its Rule Books.
Olushola Ogunnowo, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the NLO, emphasized that the Secretariat is not hasty in sanctioning or profiling teams for any infractions, instead, we followed the established laws governing the league. While every team has the right to seek redress from the NFF Appeals Committee, they must also avoid setting a bad precedent for the NLO brand, which has taken years of hard work to build.
"Match manipulation and other negative football practices undermine the very foundations of our sport, namely fair play, respect, and discipline. Therefore, the NLO maintains a zero-tolerance policy against any violations of these values," Ogunnowo stated.
"The cases recorded across different Match Centres nationwide were thoroughly investigated (during Preliminary Investigation), using reports from the Match Commissioner, the Centre Referee, and video evidence, which is standard practice. Subsequently, the relevant Articles from the Rule Books were applied.
"The rulings concerning the affected teams are expected to have a significant impact on the integrity of the league. This should not be viewed as a witch-hunt, as claimed by the clubs," he added.
Ogunnowo drew attention to four cases currently with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Appeals Committee, which have led to the suspension of playoff matches at the Sagamu, Ijebu-Ode, and Port-Harcourt centres.
In the cases of Franceex United’s 9-0 victory over Bison FC (Maracana Centre) and CAMPOS FC’s 15-2 win against A&A FC (Akwa Centre), the NLO Secretariat applied Article 4.17 regarding match-fixing:
**ARTICLE 4.17 – MATCH FIXING**
4.17(1) Any club, official, player, or referee who, by whatever arrangement with other individuals or organizations, influences or attempts to influence the outcome of a match shall be deemed guilty of gross misconduct. Upon confirmation of such allegations, the following penalties will apply:
- A fine of 500,000.00 will be imposed on the offending clubs.
- The results of the match will be annulled.
- Additionally, the NLO may impose other sanctions as deemed appropriate.
- Any individuals or club officials found guilty of masterminding the act will be banned for a minimum period of two (2) years.
In the case of the POSITIVE FA from Oyo State, which was expelled for two years, all management members were banned from football for the same period. This football academy missed three consecutive matches during the season, leading to the application of Article 2.06 regarding withdrawal:
**ARTICLE 2.06 – WITHDRAWAL**
2.06(4) No club may withdraw after the commencement of the season. If a club withdraws, it will be expelled from the competition and not eligible for readmission. All officials of such clubs will face a two-year ban.
Regarding Cynosure FC, the Chairman raised a false alarm and failed to provide sufficient evidence to support his claims surrounding the integrity of the match between Liberty Lions FC and E-World FC, which he alleged was fixed.
As a result, disciplinary measures were imposed by governing regulations.
"It is clear that Cynosure FC deliberately engaged in actions that brought the game of football in Nigeria into disrepute by falsely accusing Liberty Lions FC without concrete evidence and failing to prove their allegations of match-fixing beyond reasonable doubt," Ogunnowo remarked.
The Chairman of Cynosure FC was suspended indefinitely for six months from all NLO-related events due to raising unfounded allegations. The club was also fined N500,000 for making false claims that could damage the image of the country, the NFF, and the NLO.
Cynosure FC was strongly encouraged to enhance its internal oversight mechanisms to prevent similar incidents in the future and to reinforce trust within the football community.
"However, the chairman of Cynosure FC had a conversation with the coach of May and Frank FC before their recent league match to negotiate the outcome of that game. The NLO possesses evidence of this conversation. This is not the first time the chairman of Cynosure FC has engaged in such behaviour; he faced suspension for similar actions in 2021.
Instead of the criticism the NLO has received regarding its disciplinary sanctions, the organization should be commended for its boldness in taking swift action against this issue.
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